You Bring Me Hope
by Firemomo
Summary: This story is full of angst, drama, and romance! Katara thought she knew everything about Aang, but she finds that the Avatar is keeping secrets from her. Pairings: Katara&Aang Kataang, Toph&Sokka Tokka. I do not own Avatar.
1. A Flame

**A Flame**

The evening was cool and quiet except the howls of a wolfbat every once in a while. Even they, were unusually quiet. It was early in the morning, not even close to dawn. The world was only lit by the thin sliver of the moon and the pale starlight. The large trees created massive shadows that darkened the world beneath them except for a soft glow from an unknown source. It was smaller than a campfire and was the only light for miles.

Aang sat alone in the forest, his hand stretched out in front of him. In his palm, a blue flame danced. Aang's eyes were focused on the bright light, but they were full of an empty sadness. He looked back toward camp where his friends slept, the fire disappearing into nothingness. He had been sneaking off a lot lately. He kept having nightmares and his fire-bending was getting to be so powerful that is was becoming scary. Aang had to use all the discipline he could to stop himself from fire-bending when angry. He didn't want his friends to know that he could make blue fire, or just fire in general. Every time he had used fire-bending in another person's presence, people he cared about would get hurt. He never wanted that to happen so he kept his secret to himself. He air-bended himself to his feet. Aang walked back to camp silently. He looked around the campsite. First he looked at Sokka, who was sleeping in his warm sleeping bag, his thumb in his mouth. Aang noted this. _I can use that as black-mail later. _His grey eyes turned towards Toph's rock tent where he imagined she would be in a deep sleep. Finally Aang's eyes rested on Katara (the girl he had a major crush on). She couldn't see her face, but he assumed she was asleep. Aang wanted to stay in the woods fire-bending, but he knew his friends would get suspicious if he was too tired tomorrow, so he got back to his grass-bedding, where he lay down, his eyes on the stars. He slowly drifted back to sleep.

If Aang had been close enough, Aang would have seen two blue eyes watching him. Katara sat up slightly when she heard Aang's breathing change as he fell to sleep. Her expression, though it was too dark to see, was full of worry and confusion. For past weeks, especially the last few days, she would wake up to find Aang missing. She would convince herself that he went to the bathroom or so, but she knew now that was impossible. Who would take an hour in the bathroom?

She knew that something was wrong, but whenever she brought anything up, he would change the subject. She wanted to help him. Over the months she had known him, she had begun to like him more then friends. She kept her feelings silent though. The water-bender had convinced herself that Aang, being master of all four elements, could have any girl in the world he wanted and she knew she wasn't that girl. She sighed. Even if he didn't love her, she still worried about him. _Why was he sneaking away every night?_ Katara fell asleep after a long time thinking about Aang.


	2. Sokka's Brotherly Advice

**Sokka's Brotherly Advice**

A bird's beautiful song echoed through the forest welcoming the dawn. Toph was the first one to greet the day. **"Shut your beak, you bag of feather's or you'll be breakfast!" **Toph yelled tiredly. The bird was silent, but she had awoken another demon…

"**Breakfast!" **Sokka said shooting up to a sitting position, his eyes wide open. Sokka looked around, seeing no breakfast fell back into his sleeping bag staring up to the sky that was a pale blue.

Aang got out of his 'bed'. He got to his feet with the wind and rubbed his eyes awake. Katara sat up tiredly, her hair a mess. She reached for her pack and pulled out a brush. She began to braid her long brown hair. It had not been long since they made the assignment of chores. The chores included the taking down of the tents and other supplies, feeding Appa and Momo, making breakfast, and the unlucky person who had to wake up Toph. It was Aang's day to due the dreaded task of waking the earth-bender. Katara watched Aang approach Toph's tent. She heard Aang whisper something softly into the rocky enclosure.

Toph's reply was a large boulder shooting his direction. Aang ducked and moved short distance away until he reached Katara. **"I think we can let her sleep."** He said, a little shaken by nearly being killed by his earth-bending teacher.

"**Now that you have survived waking up an irritable blind girl, the Fire Lord should be no problem." **Katara joked. Aang gave her one of those famous smiles that she enjoyed so much.

"**Whose turn is it to find breakfast?" **Sokka's voice sounded from behind Aang and Katara.

"**Is that all you care about?" **Katara replied rolling her eyes. Aang tried to remember the order.

"**No. I care about…sleep and…and my boomerang." **He said pulling out his boomerang as if he had proved a point.

"**It's your turn."** Aang said, coming out of his thoughts.

"**Turn for what?" **Sokka asked.

"**BREAKFAST, genius!" **Aang said slowly and clearly so Sokka might actually understand him.

"**Well someone didn't get enough sleep last night." **Sokka said surprised at Aang's reply. Aang broke eye contact.

"**I'll get breakfast." **Aang replied softly turning away towards the woods. Katara saw his reaction. _What was the avatar hiding?_

"**What is wrong with him?" **Sokka said, totally oblivious.

"**Sokka, can I talk to you?" **Katara said. Sokka was going to make a joke until he saw Katara's seriousness.

"**Of course you can sis." **He said his curiosity brimming.

"**Have you noticed that Aang has been a little strange lately? It is as if he is hiding something." **She said with concern. Sokka and Katara were sitting on a log not far from camp.

"**Just lately? Aang is the strangest person I know. He talks with spirits to begin with…" **Sokka began.

"**I'm serious Sokka. Something is wrong, but he won't tell me what. He has secretly left camp every night for the past week." **She said in all seriousness. Sokka hadn't seen her so worried in his life.

"**You like him don't you?" **He asked matching her tone. Katara was surprised to hear her brother ask her such a question. Katara prepared to deny it, but instead nodded her head. Her eyes turned to the ground in embarrassment, her cheeks red. She couldn't lie to Sokka. Sokka was right. "**I don't know, Katara, but there are some things that a person has to figure out for himself." **He said.

"**I thought that at first, but he isn't figuring it out. It is getting worse and it feels as if he is growing distant." **She said in slight desperation.

"**Whatever it is, he will tell you when he is ready." **Sokka said with a small smile. He hugged his sister before heading back to camp. Katara stayed sitting, grasping her mind around Sokka's words. Sometimes that nut-head was wise.


	3. Anywhere, but There

**Anywhere, but There…**

Aang, Sokka, Katara, Momo, and Toph had been in the sky for at least two hours without finding a single stretch of land. All that lay ahead of them was a vast ocean.

"**We have bad news and…more bad news…" **Sokka began. Aang, Katara, and Toph looked at Sokka with curiosity. **"The bad news is that we are out of supplies including food." **He said sadly.

"**And the other bad news?"** Aang asked.

"**I have a really bad splinter."** Sokka said examining his finger.

"**We had plenty of food last night! Did someone get a midnight snack?" **Katara said eyeing Sokka suspiciously.

"**That only happened once! This time it wasn't me. Why don't you ask him?" **Sokka replied angrily pointing a finger at Momo. Momo gave the look of innocence.

"**How could you do that? We will all starve now!" **Toph yelled at the fat lemur. Aang, the peacemaker, stepped in.

"**Look, I bet we can find an island close-by with a market." **He said with confidence.

"**Aang's right. Sokka, do you still have that map?" **Katara asked calmly. Sokka pulled out the map and began to navigate. Katara and Aang gathered around him as Toph stayed where she was. The blind bandit felt very sick all of the sudden.

"**We should be…right…here." **Sokka pointed at an area of the ocean. **"There is only one island in a day's trip from here. The island is small, but it says here that there is a good-sized earthbending town on it named Milili…" **Aang eyes widened in horror. _No…anywhere, but there…_

"**Isn't there somewhere else we can go?" **Aang interrupted, his voice slightly shaken. _I will never return there…_Sokka gave Aang a strange look.

"**No, unless you want to starve." **He said puzzled. Aang grabbed his arm.

"**Please, isn't there some place else? A fire nation island or something?" **Aang begged his eyes pleading. Katara hadn't seen Aang so upset (other then when he went into the avatar state). _He is getting stranger by the minute._

"**What is so wrong with this island?" **Katara asked him in a calming voice. She tried to hide her confusion and concern. Aang didn't answer her. **"Whatever it is you can tell me." **She assured him. Sokka just watched, while Toph just listened from the back of Appa. Toph would have spoken up, but she the feeling of what she thought to be air-sickness was consuming her.

"**Toph are you okay?" **Sokka asked as he noticed the earthbender's ill appearance. She had turned a pale green and her expression looked as if she was going to pass out. Katara turned away from Aang and toward Toph. Aang followed Katara's eyes. Sokka, concerned, ran over to Toph and felt her fore-head. She had a high fever. "**We have to land."** He said looking back at Aang in particularly. Aang nodded solemnly.


	4. The Pain of Memory

**The Pain of Memory**

Toph's condition only worsened as they approached the island, and so had Aang's. Aang's eyes were full of an emptiness that frightened Katara. Sokka was taking care of Toph, so Katara took it upon herself to help Aang. She walked across Appa's saddle to the front so that she could talk to Aang who was holding his reigns.

"**Aang?" **She said softly. Aang turned his head slightly that looked forward. **"You've been acting strange lately and I'm worried about you. You used to tell me everything, but now…" **She paused.

"**This island has bad memories for me and…" **Aang stopped.

"**Do you want to tell me what happened?" **She asked softly in understanding. Aang closed his eyes.

"**No." **At that moment the island appeared. It had a small mountain range leading down into a forest which then broke up into a beach. The beach then curved into the island concealing a bay-side town. The town was virtually hidden except for the smoke that rose from its people's fires. Aang circled around the town and landed outside its borders. His expression was blank.

Toph fell asleep once they landed. Sokka picked her up and carried her off Appa. Aang and Katara followed. Katara's eyes were on Aang most of the trek to Milili. As they neared the city, Aang looked around. Katara noticed this. He looked as if he was remembering something…remembering a moment…

_The day was very cold, but Aang didn't notice. His eyes were trained on the ground tears filling his grey eyes. A hand touched his shoulder. Aang turned to see Monk Gyatso. "**Why did this happen?" **He whispered trying to hold in his tears. Gyatso didn't answer. He didn't have an answer and Gyatso knew everything. Aang looked around him. There weren't many people in the march, but the people who were there were of all the nations. Airbenders, earthbenders, waterbenders, and even firebenders were there. Everyone he cared about was around him, but one. One very important person was missing…and it was his fault. _

_Aang began to cry uncontrollably. He had been doing a lot of that lately…_

Aang came back to reality, but his memory was still there. He walked down the same street. The same street he had walked 100 years before; but now he didn't have everyone he loved walking behind him. He wasn't missing only one person this time. He was missing everyone.

Katara's hand touched his shoulder. **"Aang?" **She said a little frightened. Tears rolled down the avatar's face slowly. He rubbed the tears away and pulled away from her. Katara was hurt by his actions. _I want to help him. _She thought sadly.

After asking some people, Sokka finally found Toph a doctor. The doctor they met was very kind and gave them all a place to sleep. They all slept in the doctor's guest room for the night. Katara was trapped in a room of depression. Aang was still moping around silently. Sokka was worried to death about Toph. She wasn't sure why her brother had grown so close to the earthbender, but she could tell he hated her being sick. Toph was given medicine, but slept all night. Katara hated it. She wished she could go back to the days where her friends were actually happy. She sat on the bed thinking. The doctor had assured them that Toph would be fine, but no one seemed to take his news truthfully.

**The next day…**

The next morning was a beautiful one, but still everyone seemed to be too busy to notice. Sokka spent the morning helping the doctor while Aang tried to avoid stepping outside. Every time he looked outside, he acted as if he was physically in pain. She didn't even bother asking what was wrong. The doctor told the truth. By noon, to their surprise, Toph was almost back to her normal self. She was weary from the medication, but was not hesitant to call Aang twinkle-toes and boss him around; however even she seemed to notice Aang's behavior. The doctor said that she had been cured very quickly compared to most. _If only everybody healed that quickly._ Katara thought to herself when she saw Toph on her feet again. Sokka was so happy when he saw that Toph was okay.

Katara thought that she had seen Toph blush when Aang mentioned Sokka carrying her to the doctor. She also thought that she saw Sokka touch Toph's hand once. Toph must be four years younger than him, but their bond was more then Katara expected. Katara and Aang had made contact twice during all of this. His grey eyes reflected her same puzzled expression. He had seen everything Katara had. Even if it wasn't official, Toph and Sokka definitely liked each other more than friends.


	5. A Secret Revealed

**A Secret Revealed**

It was time to leave the doctor's home. They exchanged their goodbyes and then stepped out into the streets again. Aang wasn't pleased with this, but this time he tried to keep his memories from hurting him, and Katara. He knew that Katara was worried about him. (Although he only thought of her worry as a part of their close friendship) Aang didn't want to hurt her. Aang even tried to enjoy himself. He tried to forget.

Toph and Sokka had gone shopping down the street, so that left Katara and Aang along together. They spent their time investigating the many strange shops. Aang and Katara forgot about everything and just smiled and laughed. After Aang blew half their money on random objects, Katara took charge of the remainder of their funds. Katara even flirted with the airbender every once in a while, not like either of them noticed that their conversations were classified as flirting. Aang even helped Katara pick a new dress at a water tribe shop. _Aang was actually a very truthful critic. _Katara thought to herself with a smile.

Everything was perfect…

Aang and Katara met up with Sokka and Toph and walked down the main street. Sadly, Aang hadn't noticed where he was heading until it was too late. Aang looked ahead. He stopped completely. He had terrified look on his face. Katara, Sokka, and Toph turned toward him. A tear flowed down his cheek. His eyes stared ahead. Even the town's people stopped when they saw the great avatar's expression. Katara slowly followed his eyes to the center of the town. A small fountain lay in ruin in front of them. It had burn marks all across it from a battle with the firebenders. The fountain was dried up and was broken and cracked. It was covered in dirt and had obviously been through a lot in its time. Katara, along with everyone else, had no idea what was wrong. "**No." **Aang whispered under his breath. "**Aang?" **She asked turning back to him. Aang began to cry. He ran up to the fountain with the speed of an airbender, only to fall to his knees. He looked as if he had just been stabbed by and invisible knife. _Maybe he had been_. She thought. "**What's wrong Aang?" **She said desperately. Aang put his head into his hands and just cried uncontrollably. He didn't want to control it. He just cried. Blue fire formed in his palms as he pulled them away from his face. Katara's eyes widened.

Parents grabbed their children and locked them inside. Most of the people stayed by their doors. Fire was an enemy, no matter who held it. Aang's eyes were closed, but he still had tears streaming down his face. "**Aang!"** Katara yelled toward him stepping forward. Sokka grabbed her arm protectively.

Aang stood up suddenly. When he opened his eyes they were full of anger and grief mixed together. He pulled back his arm and threw a ball of flame toward the broken fountain. "**How could this happen? How could I let this happen?" **He yelled through tears. He wasn't in the avatar state. He was past that. He was beyond simple anger. Katara broke from her brother's arms and ran towards Aang. She paused behind him, not sure how to help. Aang's arrows glowed slightly, but instead of a blue glow, it was red. "**Aang. Aang!" **She called him desperately. Aang turned toward her, the blue flames still in his hands. His eyes were not glowing. They were full of all the sadness he had been feeling for the past few days. She couldn't understand what had happened, but she wanted to do anything to stop it. The fire disappeared from his hands and from the fountain he had burned. He just stared at her. She had never seen Aang with so much power all under his control.

Katara ran up to him and hugged him. Aang cried while hugging her back.

It felt like an eternity of standing there. Finally, the two broke their embrace. Aang's eyes were red from crying. **"What is so upsetting about a fountain?" **She asked. Her voice was quiet, but due to the silence of the town, her voice was heard by everyone.

"**It's not a fountain." **He said his voice cracking from all of his crying. Katara was confused. _What does he mean? _**"It is…" **He paused trying to find the words, "…**a memorial." **He continued, closing his eyes. He gave in to the memory. **"100 years ago, I stood here with Monk Gyatso as my earthbending friend, May, created the fountain in…honor…of my…" **It was very hard to recall the day, but even harder to say the name of the person it was in honor of. He just stopped talking. He turned toward the fountain. Suddenly, Aang threw a huge gust of wind against the stone. A cloud of dirt fell to the ground to reveal the fountain's original beauty. On the bottom was an engraving. Aang stared at it. Katara followed his eyes again. **"Read it."** Aang said softly. She read the words out loud. "**_Lili." _**She whispered. Sokka and Toph watched them closely, not sure what was going on. "**_A gentle and kind daughter…a talented airbender…and…" _**She looked up at Aang. Everything made sense all of the sudden. **"…_and the best little sister a boy could ever have."_** She fingered the sentence. She really didn't know anything about the avatar. Aang wasn't crying now.

The sun was setting by now. The shadows grew longer. Aang made eye contact with Katara. "**She was your sister." **She whispered. Aang nodded. (An eternity later) The silence was awkward. Katara had thought that she could help Aang. She thought that the thing that was making him upset was fixable, but she knew now that Aang had suffered a lot more grief then she had first thought. She knew that she could never help him. She felt like such a fool. Aang held out his hand to help her up. When she looked up at him, he had a small smile on his face. She let him help her to her feet. **"Thanks."** He said softly. He let go of her hand and walked away from the circle of spectators. She was left standing there. _Thanks? Thanks for what? She had hurt him. She was the one who was prying into his problems, reminding him of the past. Why should he thank her? _Her face expressed her confusion. She looked at the fountain. On each side was a sign from every nation and, though the fountain was damaged, each symbol was unharmed. She looked back to where Aang had been.

She made eye contact with Sokka. Sokka looked confused and sad at the same time. He could never imagine losing Katara.

Katara looked around at all the people who had been watching. She knew what she had to do. She ran out of the circle after Aang. She had to tell him. She had to tell him how much she cared about him whether it mattered or not.


	6. Love

**Love**

Katara wasn't sure where Aang had gone, but somehow she found him. He was sitting at the base of a tree outside the gate. He legs were pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. Aang's eyes were staring blankly ahead. Katara walked up to him, her steps silent. **"What are you doing here?"** She asked.

Aang looked up at her. He looked much better. His eyes weren't even very red anymore. **"I was a little embarrassed after breaking down in front of a whole town…and in front of you." **He said with a small smile. He felt a lot better now. He had been holding all of that in for 100 years; of course, to him it felt like a few months. Katara returned the smile.

"**Why did you say thank you?" **She asked sitting down next to him.

"**You said yourself that I bring hope to people; hope that the war will end and peace will come." **He paused.** "I lost hope when I lost everyone I cared about. Not only my sister, but everyone." **He said sadly.** "I don't think I would have made it this far if I hadn't met you. You bring ME hope. When I am around you, Sokka, or even Toph, I feel happy and free. I feel as if there is a future for me. It is hard to wake up every morning to the thought that you may die a horrible fate at the hands of the Fire Lord and you guys make that all go away." **His voice got quieter as he reached the last line.

Katara was touched by Aang's words. She never thought that she had meant that much to him.** "Aang, there is something I have been meaning to tell you for a long time." **Katara said. Aang looked surprised.** "What?" **He asked with extreme curiosity. Katara then leaned in and kissed him on the lips. It was just a small kiss, but it meant the world to both of them.They broke apart and stared at each other blushing. Of course one kiss wasn't enough… Aang came in for another kiss, but this time it was a little longer. Luckily both of them didn't notice the water tribe boy who was trying desperately to through his boomerang at Aang's head. To Aang's good, a little earthbender saw him first and encased him in earth.

"**I thought you didn't mind them being together?" **Toph asked Sokka.

"**That doesn't include kissing!" **Sokka replied. Toph stopped him by kissing HIM on the lips. (Third kiss for Sokka)

Check out the continued adventures of Katara and Aang along with Toph and Sokka as soon as they are available! The journey has only begun…

**To Be Continued…**


	7. No Continuation

There will be no continuation of this story.

I haven't checked this account in over two years, but it was a lot of fun to come back and read over my old fanfics.

I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do!


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